fell

¹

[ fel ]

verb

1. simple past tense of fall.

fell

²

[ fel ]

verb (used with object)

1. to knock, strike, shoot, or cut down; cause to fall: to fell a tree.

   to fell a moose;

   to fell a tree.

2. Sewing. to finish (a seam) by sewing the edge down flat.

noun

1. Lumbering. the amount of timber cut down in one season.
2. Sewing. a seam finished by felling.

fell

³

[ fel ]

adjective

1. fierce; ferocious; dreadful; savage.
2. destructive; deadly:

   fell poison;

   fell disease.

fell

⁴

[ fel ]

noun

, Chiefly Literary.

1. the skin or hide of an animal; pelt.

fell

⁵

[ fel ]

noun

, Scot. and North England.

1. an upland pasture, moor, or thicket; a highland plateau.

fell

¹

/ fɛl /

adjective

1. archaic.
   cruel or fierce; terrible
2. archaic.
   destructive or deadly

   a fell disease

3. one fell swoop
   a single hasty action or occurrence

fell

²

/ fɛl /

noun

1. often plural
   1. a mountain, hill, or tract of upland moor
   2. ( in combination )

      fell-walking

fell

³

/ fɛl /

noun

1. an animal skin or hide

fell

⁴

/ fɛl /

verb

1. the past tense of fall

fell

⁵

/ fɛl /

verb

1. to cut or knock down

   to fell a tree

   to fell an opponent

2. needlework to fold under and sew flat (the edges of a seam)

noun

1. the timber felled in one season
2. a seam finished by felling

Derived Forms

• ˈfellness, noun
• ˈfellable, adjective

Other Words From

• fell·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of fell¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English fellen, fillen, fullen, Old English fellan, fyllan “to cut, cut down, destroy, shed (tears),” causative of feallan “to fall, fall down”; cognate with Gothic falljan, Old Frisian falla, fella, Old High German fellen, German fällen “to make fall”; fall

Origin of fell²

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English fel “treacherous, deceitful, false,” from Old French, nominative of felon “wicked”; felon ¹

Origin of fell³

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English fel(l); cognate with Dutch vel, German Fell, Old Norse -fjall (as in berfjall “bearskin”), Gothic -fill (in thrutsfill “leprosy,” literally “scab skin”); akin to Latin pellis “skin, hide,” Greek péltē “small, light, leather-covered shield”

Origin of fell⁴

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English fel “hill, mountain; upland or pasture; a moor or down”; from Old Norse fjall, -fell, “hill, mountain,” akin to German Fels “rock, cliff”

Word History and Origins

Origin of fell¹

C13 fel , from Old French: cruel, from Medieval Latin fellō villain; see felon ¹

Origin of fell²

C13: from Old Norse fjall ; related to Old High German felis rock

Origin of fell³

Old English; related to Old High German fel skin, Old Norse berfjall bearskin, Latin pellis skin; see peel ¹

Origin of fell⁴

Old English fellan ; related to Old Norse fella , Old High German fellen ; see fall

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. at / in one fell swoop. swoop ( def 5 ).

More idioms and phrases containing fell

see one fell swoop .

Example Sentences

She remembers sitting at the kitchen table doing her homework when her mom fell and Rigelhaupt didn’t respond the way her mom thought she should.

From Los Angeles Times

Nearly all of this work previously fell to just one man — longtime chief operating officer John Harper.

From Los Angeles Times

When Lucy fell pregnant with her second baby in 2023, her family were shocked to discover no extra support was provided.

From BBC

The last time they had lost a City playoff contest was in 2011 when they fell to Cleveland 14-3 in the quarterfinals.

From Los Angeles Times

I think it’s something that we accidentally fell into here.

From Salon

Related Words

• drop
• flatten
• raze
• shoot
• shoot down
• slash
• tumble